Microsoft to end Lumia smartphone sales by the end of this year

Nokia Lumia production will cease by the end of 2016 reports WinBeta.

It’s no secret that Microsoft has been trying to liquidate its remaining Lumia assets by offering giveaways, buy-one-get-one offers and discounts as of late. Microsoft also slowed the release of Lumia handsets down over the years because of faltering sales and lackluster market performance.

The most recent Lumia releases range from a low-range model, a mid-range model and two flagships:

• Lumia 550
• Lumia 650
• Lumia 950
• Lumia 950 XL

Lumia rolled out as a Microsoft phone back in 2011 and stood out with its clean, smooth UI and display of information without having to open several apps. The first phone released in the range was the Nokia Lumia 800 which ran Windows Phone 7.5. Lumia phones running Windows 8 were released in 2012, Windows 8.1 in 2014 and Windows Phone 10 in 2015.

The phone thrived somewhat under Nokia’s supervision and generated notable market revenue but in 2013, Microsoft bought Nokia’s shares and assimilated the Lumia brand into a bigger company name. Lumia handsets began rolling out with Microsoft brand logo in 2014 while the Nokia logo was left on production models. Though the merger didn’t go so well after new CEO Satya Nadella fired several employees, it ultimately ended up deteriorating the brand.

Microsoft started offering its Lumia devices on its Microsoft Store website and in physical stores at more than reasonable prices and offers, which is kind of worrying. Several people have stated the physical Microsoft Stores have been moving their sale of Windows phone collections into smaller areas and out of the way from customers. As for the online international website, all links to the Lumia range have been removed from the homepage in the US, and the company replaced Lumia with Windows phones on other regional sites. When Winbeta sources tried reaching out to the company for recent developments on the matter, they refused to give away anything, saying that they “have nothing to share” at the moment. This also suggests to keeping you eyes open for latest Windows phone releases at the Microsoft Store.

Lumia phones, powered by Windows OS, were only able to attain a total three percent market share in Europe. The Lumia series produced a few bright stars with models like the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 1020 with its 41MP Carl Zeiss primary camera with OIS.  It was an attempt by Microsoft to breathe new life into the brand that had been lifeless for so long. Principally, the entire OS was built from scratch and ran a lighter version of Windows 10. It was also bundled with the Universal Windows Platform which made scaling on mobile, desktop, tablet, and Xbox One possible. With the introduction of Continuum support, users could plug-in their Windows 10 devices to a screen and run a lighter version of the OS.

It is kind of disappointing to see that even the introduction of Windows Continuum with the Lumia 950 series failed to turn enough heads. A sluggish interface, buggy platform, slow updates and lack of app support are all inadequacies that have greatly contributed to the downfall of Windows 10 Mobile.

What is Microsoft planning next? Is it the end of Windows phone era? Luckily, there is still a ray of hope for Windows phone lovers. With the end of Lumia declared in December 2016, Microsoft is planning to release its two major updates, Redstone 2 and Redstone 3, both of which are focused on Windows mobile phones; the former in early 2017 and the latter after a breach of a few months. Windows phone lovers are firmly grasping on the hope for the rumored Surface all-in-one release, a superior replacement for the previously terminated Lumia phones.

Microsoft is rumored to be holding an event in October 2016, but it seems odd to hold an event for the release of a single device. It is possible we might be seeing some unexpected releases as well.

Between the discontinuation of Lumia and the release of the Surface device, Microsoft’s Director of Engineering Laura Butler, who was recently involved in several Windows Insider planning meetings for Redstone 2, has left some hints on Twitter about a Surface phone. The tweets might not be a solid confirmation, but are certainly enough to raise some speculation.

@TehJackuh @itsmichaelwest @zacbowden Surface Phone not NOT confirmed. 🙂

— Laura Janet Butler (@LauraCatPJs) September 7, 2016

The use of a double-negative, “not NOT,” doesn’t help much either. This is one of a few tweets, though:

@itsmichaelwest @zacbowden Surface iPhone. 😉

— Laura Janet Butler (@LauraCatPJs) September 6, 2016

We must say it is a little astounding to see a senior Microsoft authority figure stating the term Surface phone directly.

What do you think about the Surface phone release? Is it really on its way? Leave us a comment and let us know.